Towne Athlete Meet

TOWNE ATHLETE

Caleb Herb

South River High School Football

By Tom Worgo

When most of Caleb Herb’s teammates go home after a two-and-half-hour football practice to eat dinner or study, he heads to the gym. Herb, a senior offensive lineman on the South River High School varsity team, will work out for as long as two hours at Edgewater Fitness. says. “There are some days I don’t want to go to the gym and he pushes me to go. I don’t know where he gets all his energy from.

“His weight has gone through the roof,” he adds. Many college coaches have noticed how the added weight has made him a coveted recruit. Herb says he’s been recruited by some 35 schools. He’s received scholarship offers from Bucknell, and a pair of Division II schools, Seton Hill, and Shepherd. Herb also has been recruited by Army, Navy, Yale, and, even, Rutgers of the Big 10 Conference.

Herb still expects more offers to come. “I am definitely eager to see how this season goes especially with the size I have put on compared to other years,” Herb says.

Prior to this fall, Herb racked up 25 starts on the offensive line. He’s also been the team’s nose guard and long snapper for three seasons.

Herb is well-regarded in the football community. He made the Baltimore Touchdown Club’s Su-

WORKING OUT WILL MAKE THE BEST VERSION OF MYSELF. I JUST WANT TO PROVE PEOPLE WRONG WHO’VE DOUBTED ME IN ANY SORT OF WAY. I WANT TO SHOW THEM HOW GOOD I AM AND THAT I CAN TRY TO BE PERFECT IN WHAT I DO.”

His offseason saw even longer workouts. For three days a week, he trained for about four hours, and sometimes five hours, Herb says. The results have been more than noticeable for the right guard. Herb has gained 70 pounds since his freshman year.

“Working out will make the best version of myself,” says Herb, who is now 6-foot-4 and 280-pounds. “I just want to prove people wrong who’ve doubted me in any sort of way. I want to show them how good I am and that I can try to be perfect in what I do.”

Herb’s father and South River’s offensive coordinator, Lucas Jamerson, loves to work out, too, but probably not as much as his son. Herb, a four-year starter on the offensive line, bench presses 330 pounds and squats 650 pounds. Jamerson says Herb takes every weightlifting session very seriously. He has been the first one in the weight room during offseason workouts at school and the last to leave.

“He really likes to go to the gym every day,” Jamerson

per 22 team, which features the best players from Maryland. Herb also earned a spot in Prep Redzone’s First-Team Class 4A All-State Selections.

“Football is very important to him,” South River Football Coach Steve Erxleben says. “Caleb is a football kid. I think every part, from grades to his social life, revolves around how to become a better football player.”

Herb excels on the field because of his agility, power, and a mean streak. Erxleben calls him “the complete package for an offensive lineman.”

“One coach told me, ‘He has the best feet of any linemen in the state,’” Erxleben recalls. “Some players are more of a tackle than guard. He is a guard that will get downfield and go to the second level. He wants to block someone 60 yards downfield. I tell him, ‘We don’t need that. Relax.’”

Herb gets as much respect for his commitment to academics as football. He carries a weighted 3.8 grade-point average. “Caleb’s presence demands respect,” South River Athletic Director Dave Klingel says. “He is going to be part of our athletic leadership council, which we are going to start this year. He is going to be successful at whatever he does.”

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